THE HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENTSAUTHOR: FRITZ J. ROETHLISBERGER (1941)

YUANZE UNIVERSITY- DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM

COURSE OF ORGANIZATION THEORY

INSTRUCTOR: PROFESSOR SHIH-CHUN HSUPRESENTED BY: JESSIE PHAM, ID: s1019424

CONTENTS

Introduction Research BackgroundThe Hawthorne Experiments

Illuminated intensity variation Relay Assembly Test Room Mass Interviewing Program Bank Wiring Observation Room

Results of Class SurveyConclusions

INTRODUCTION

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE TERM OF

“THE HAWTHORNE EFFECTS”?

WHAT ARE THE HAWTHORNE

EXPERIMENTS ABOUT ?

RESEARCH BACKGROUND

In the 1920s, with support from the National Research Council, the Rockefeller Foundation, and eventually Harvard Business School, Western Electric undertook a series of behavioral experiments

Elton Mayo (1880-1949), a professor of Industrial Management at Harvard Business School a view of industry drawn from

anthropology, psychology, and physiology.

founder of the Human Relations Movement

His protégé Fritz J. Roethlisberger (1898-1974), a social scientist and management theorist in Harvard.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND

The nine-year studies (1924-1933) took place at the massive Hawthorne Works plant outside of Chicago of Western Electric

One of the most advanced manufacturing facilities with 29,000 workers producing equipment for AT&T.

Generated a mountain of documents

Part I - Illumination Variation (1924-27)

Experiments were performed to find out the effect of different levels of illumination (lighting) on productivity of labor

The brightness of the light was increased and decreased to determine the effects of lighting on worker efficiency in three separate manufacturing departments

Surprisingly, the productivity increased even when the level of illumination was decreased

Factors other than light were also important?

Part II - Relay Assembly Test Room Study (1927-1929)

Two small groups of six female telephone relay assemblers were selected, each group was kept in separate rooms

Researchers were unsure if productivity increased in this experiment because of the introduction of rest periods, shorter working hours, wage incentives, the dynamics of a smaller group, or the special attention the women received

Part II - Relay Assembly Test Room Study (1927-1929)

From time to time, changes were made in working hours, rest periods, lunch breaks, etc

They were allowed to choose their own rest periods and to give suggestions

Output increased in both the control rooms “The intimate atmosphere of the test room gave

them a sense of freedom not experienced on the factory floor”

“They felt more at ease to talk and over time developed strong friendships”

“The six individuals became a team!”

Part II - Relay Assembly Test Room Study (1927-1929) – The result

Mental attitudes, proper supervision, and informal

social relationships experienced in a group were key to productivity

and job satisfaction.

Part III - Mass Interviewing Programm (1928-1930)

21,000 employees were interviewed over a period of three years to find out reasons for increased their productivity

The interview is now defined as a conversation in which the employee is encouraged to express himself freely upon any topic of his own choosing.

Interviews, which averaged around 30 minutes, grew to 90 minutes or even two hours in length

Part III - Mass Interviewing Programm (1928-1930) – The result

Hundreds of pages in which

employees disclose personal details of their day to day lives, offer an interesting portrait of the American industrial worker in the years leading to and following the Depression.

Thousands of comments were sorted into employees’ attitudes about general working conditions, specific jobs, or supervisors

What employees found most deeply rewarding were close

associations with one another, strong ties to the workplace

and community

Part IV - Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiment (1932)

A group of 14 male workers in the bank wiring room were placed under observation for six months

A worker's pay depended on the performance of the group as a whole

It’s thought that the efficient workers would put pressure on the less efficient workers to complete the work

The group established its own standards of output, and social pressure was used to achieve the standards of output.

THE HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENTS

The questions and theories generated about the relationship of productivity to the needs and motivations of the industrial workers.

“Instead of treating the workers as an appendage to ‘the machine’,” the Hawthorne experiments brought to light ideas concerning motivational influences, job satisfaction, resistance to change, group norms, worker participation, and effective leadership.

These were groundbreaking concepts in the 1930s.

MINI-SURVEY

PLEASE HELP TO FILL IN THIS!

WHAT BE LEARNT FROM THE MINI SURVEY?

ONLY 18 students went class last week, (where were the other 8?)

14/18 participated in the survey, very high respondent rate (~78%)

Q1- 6/14: professional jobs (managers, instructor, teacher, visiting doctor, vice president and CEO vs. the rest (students, sales& marketing employee, retired)

Q2-9/14 said they enjoy going to work everyday (~64%) vs. “Too much work” (Dissatisfied group)

The Hawthorne effect in working environment

Q3-The top 6 reasons to stay in job? Interesting work Challenging job assignments Nice co-workers/followers Good boss Safe, healthy and comfortable

environment Salary/benefits stability

The Hawthorne effect in working environment

Q4- What employer could do to improve employee productivity? (open question) Training and promotion opportunity Trusty, caring and safe working place (vacation) Cross-departmental/ highly flexible work designs Shared leadership, decentralized structure Motivate, praise them 4 responses of salary (money, payment, bonus)

Q5- Have you ever heard about “Hawthorne Effect”? If yes, pls specify? 100% NEVER HEARD BEFORE

The “Hawthorne Effect”

The Hawthorne effect is a form of reactivity whereby subjects improve or modify an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they know they are being studied, not in response to any particular experimental manipulation

Mayo's findings was the effect that working in groups had on the individuals Hawthorne set the individual in a social context,

establishing that the performance of employees is influenced by their surroundings and by the people that they are working with as much as by their own innate abilities.

Hawthorne Experiment Conclusions

“workers were motivated by more than self-interest” and instead the

following applied:Psychological Contract

There is an unwritten understanding between the worker and employer regarding what is expected from them

Interest in WorkersA worker’s motivation can be increased by showing an interest in them.

Work is a Group Activity

Hawthorne Experiment Conclusions Social Aspect of Work

Workers are motivated by the social aspect of work, as demonstrated by the female workers socializing during and outside work and the subsequent increase in motivation.

Recognize WorkersWorkers are motivated by recognition, security and a sense of belonging.

CommunicationWorkers are motivated through a good working relationship with management.

Back to the Author’s thesis “A human problem to be brought to a

human solution requires human data and human tools”

“The road back to sanity in Management-employee relations” that “worker is a social animal and should be treated as such“ and “a man whose job is without social function is like a man without a country”

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION

AND ATTENTION!

ANY COMMENTS & QUESTIONS?

Hawthorne part 2- detailed Under normal conditions with a forty eight hour week, including Saturdays,

and no rest pauses. The girls produced 2,400 relays a week each. They were then put on piece-work for eight weeks. Output went up Two five minute rest pauses, morning and afternoon, were

introduced for a period of five weeks. Output went up once more The rest pauses were lengthened to ten minutes each. Output went up sharply. Six five minute pauses were introduced, and the girls complained

that their work rhythm was broken by the frequent pauses. Output fell slightly Return to the two rest pauses, the first with a hot meal supplied by

the Company free of charge. Output went up The girls were dismissed at 4.30 p.m. instead of 5.00 p.m. Output went up They were dismissed at 4.00 p.m. Output remained the same Finally, all the improvements were taken away, and the girls went

back to the physical conditions of the beginning of the experiment: work on Saturday, 48 hour week, no rest pauses, no piece work and no free meal. This state of affairs lasted for a period of 12 weeks.

Output was the highest ever recorded averaging 3000 relays a week